The children of today grow up almost as connected to their cell phones or other mobile electronic devices as they were connected upon birth to an umbilical cord. When they get old enough to drive, they’re hooked, 24/7. Unfortunately, driving while emailing, calling, texting or otherwise checking the Internet can be a fatal mistake.
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Recent studies show an increase in teen car crash traffic accident fatalities that’s attributable to two things: more driving by teens at night, and more driving by teens while texting or using a cell phone.
In the years between 1999 and 2008, nighttime fatal car crashes with teen drivers rose by 10 per cent. Night driving deaths increased at a lesser rate for older drivers, and driving fatalities overall declined in this time.
The Texas Transportation Institute’s Bernie Fetts, a senior research specialist, said in an interview with the Associated Press that the heightened death toll comes from a “perfect storm” of harmful factors. One such factor is driving at night, which is more hazardous for any driver of any age. Another factor is calling or texting while at the wheel, thus compromising a person’s ability to handle a vehicle.
Teens tend to think otherwise, since they know they send text messages with ease. But texting is still a distraction, diverting them from giving their full attention to driving. And momentary inattention while driving can be fatal. Indeed, the yearly toll for drivers calling, emailing or texting is about 6,000 persons dead and 500,000 injured. Were those texts worth it?
Increasingly, Americans are recognizing the dire consequences of calling and texting while driving. So far, 23 states have passed laws banning texting while driving. The national organization FocusDriven was formed to fight distracted driving via cell phones or texting in much the same way Mothers Against Drunk Driving was formed to fight DUI accidents.
Talk show hostess Oprah Winfrey has weighed in with her own initiative, a pledge signup by teens called a “No Phone Zone.” By signing, teens avow that they will not text or use their cell phone while driving.
Jim S. Adler & Associates strongly supports such safe driving measures and urges everyone to save their texts and phone calls for a proper time – when they aren’t driving a multi-ton vehicle at high speeds in complex traffic. Today’s teens may think such texting and calling won’t divert them from driving safely, but those who have perished in texting car accidents prove otherwise. Texting car crash accidents can happen, and that unexpected first time may prove to be a fatal last time.
Jim S. Adler & Associates is a longtime Texas personal injury law firm with offices in San Antonio, Houston, Dallas and Channelview. The law firm offers a free case review and represents victims of car, auto, truck, SUV, motorcycle, bus and other traffic accidents, as well as drunk driving accidents.
